The Last Halloween
by Fizzy Starburst
Summary: Candace's search for the perfect Halloween costume results in a confession that Jeremy never saw coming. Ficlet. Candermy fluff.


Though it was a usual scene, tensions were running higher than what he considered to be normal. In the overwhelming pink of Candace's bedroom, Jeremy sat on the plush of her bed (With the door wide open, of course. Didn't want Mr. or Mrs. Fletcher to be getting the wrong idea.) Candace, meanwhile, was tearing apart her closet, in search of something to make the _perfect_ Halloween costume. They'd already searched the Googolplex Mall up and down, finding nothing to the redhead's satisfaction. As she tore items out of her closet at a semi-alarming rate, she let out a dramatic cry of "Why is this so hard?!"

While Jeremy had initially thought it best to let Candace do her thing and stand by as moral support, he moved from his spot on the bed to stand as he offered "It doesn't have to be perfect, Candace. As long as you like it. There's plenty of more Halloweens after this one to get it perfect."

"No! There won't be more!" Candace wailed. "Not with..." she caught herself, thankfully, and wiped her eyes which had started to tear up, before turning from the closet to face her boyfriend "It just has to be perfect, okay?! It _has_ to!"

"Candace?" To say that Jeremy was suddenly worried about his girlfriend was an understatement. And even from the way he said her name just then - the wavering of uncertainty, how he was suddenly fidgeting with his trembling hands. "Wha...what did you mean, just now? There won't be anymore...?"

"Nothing." she responded nervously. "It doesn't mat-"

"It _does_ matter!" Jeremy interrupted. "You know you can tell me anything, don't you?"

Candace didn't respond beyond biting down on her lip, eyes now moving to the carpeted floor.

"Please," the blonde pleaded "You're making me really worried. Just tell me what's going on."

There was a deep breath taken, and then Candace's eyes finally came back up to meet Jeremy's. "It has to be perfect, Jeremy. Because...because I _know_ that this is going to be the only Halloween where I'm still your girlfriend."

Jeremy's eyes narrowed, his face etched over with confusion as he asked "What are you talking about?"

"This time next year you'll be in _college_ with _college women_ and I'm just going to be a silly high school _girl_. We're going to try to do the whole long distance thing but then you're going to get there and realize how out of my league you've _always_ been. You'll stop answering my calls and texts - and then before you know it you're a big famous rock star coming to Danville to play a hometown show and I'll be there waiting for you and you'll have trouble even remembering my name..." the words spilled out of Candace's mouth like a river that had previous been blocked by dam that had opened, pushing everything through at an alarming speed.

"Do you..." Jeremy blinked in the direction of his now-trembling girlfriend "Do you really believe all that? Do you think that's what's going to happen?"

As Candace gave nothing more but a meek nod, and Jeremy could feel his heart shatter. How could she believe that? How could he have let her believe that? With a few steps forward, he closed the space between them, taking Candace into his arms, hugging her as tightly as he could, breathing in her scent. He felt her head cuddle into the crook of his neck, which immediately pulled his lips into a smile. It always did.

He rubbed her back for a moment, before speaking again, quietly, mumbling into her hair "You know what I think is gonna happen? I'm going to go to college next year and I'm going to tell everyone about how much I love my girlfriend, Candace Flynn. And then when my first year is over, I'm going to come back to Danville, I'm going to take you to your prom, and then we're going to go to the same college. After I graduate I'll get a little apartment where you leave all of your things even though you keep telling me you don't want to move in. And then once you graduate, we're going to get married and have two kids. We're going to name our daughter Amanda and we're going to fight over whether we name our son Fred or Xavier. That what I think is going to happen. And I like my version a lot better."

Candace let out a soft moan of agreement, before telling him "He's going to be named Xavier, Jeremy."

"You keep saying that." he chuckled, moving slightly to leave a light kiss on her hairline "But I like Fred."

Candace took a baby step backwards, enough to look Jeremy in the eyes, as she confessed "I love you, Jeremy Johnson. I love you so, so much."

It was the first time either had said it out loud. They'd said it over text, but hearing it out loud was an entirely different experience. Jeremy felt like he was melting - and he loved it. "I love you too, Candace. And I never want you to forget that again, okay?"

"Okay." Candace nodded. "I'm sorry I get so...you know..."

"Don't be." Jeremy assured her, before shifting so that only one arm was wrapped around her waist. "Now, how about we go somewhere to get your mind off of this. I heard the movie theatre is reshowing that old Scarlet Pimpernel movie. Maybe that will inspire your _perfect_ costume."

Candace nodded, leaning up to gently kiss Jeremy's cheek. "I like the sound of that."


End file.
